Thursday, April 30, 2009

The other day I read the umpteenth article about how drinking (booze) more than one drink a day is bad for you – but that abstaining from drinking is also bad for you (teetolers apparently get sick more than drinkers).

It just got me thinking, not that everything is bad for you (because apparently it is) but that today’s society has become downright obsessed with being the best and healthiest that they can be. Which is kind of funny, since there seems to be nothing but unhealthy overweight slobs out there.

Everywhere you turn you hear that goji berries are the newest superfood, quickly replaced by the acai berry, and that if you consume huge amounts of these foods you can live forever (or that’s what they want you to believe).

Then it’s the sun…oooh skin cancer everywhere, don’t you dare step outside without spf 100 slathered on you every 5 minutes, even if you are just walking to your car. I understand the ozone is thinner now but have we forgotten that people NEED sun and that we are indoors now more than ever (remember the days when we worked in the fields, sans sunscreen for thousands of years). Yes, burning is bad, some people really should avoid the sun at all costs and no you shouldn’t use a tanning bed ever, but frankly I am tired of all these scare tactics.

Same tactics are applied to drinking…more than 5 drinks in a week makes you an alcoholic apparently. Well my family is sadly full of alcoholics, I know what real ones look like this broad term on “binge drinking” isn’t helping anyone. Hello, Jesus freakin’ drank wine…no he didn’t drink a bottle to himself, but I’m sure he had more than ONE glass at the Last Supper (Oh noes, so bad for him, it’ll kill him!).

So we are told to avoid this, don’t drink that (coffee is bad for you, oh wait coffee burns fat, but oh wait it’s bad for your heart but oh wait it has antioxidants), get 8 hours of sleep OR MORE a night (don’t get me started on that one…I mean I personally DO need 8 hours but I don’t think it applies to everyone), and we are bombarded with organic food and superfoods and supersupplements and everything in order to become the healthiest people we can be.

Why now? Why is this whole planet suddenly obsessed with becoming the fittest, healthiest, most perfect people? I mean, this has always existed to an extent but right now you are bombarded with the best ways to have the best everything and then some. It’s crazy, it’s everywhere and I have to ask WHY?

I said that out loud the other day to my bf, musing that it’s happening at a time when the planet is going downhill and if people spent as much time fixing themselves as they do on fixing the planet, we wouldn’t be in such a mess. I am not a huge eco freak….I recycle, I turn off lights and try not to waste water and that’s about it…but it did have me wonder. My boyfriend then said, “It’s like people have realized they can’t save the planet, so they might as well save themselves.”

I don’t know if that’s true or not but you have to admit it’s an interesting connection.

Speaking of perfection, let’s swing the pendulum from “deep thoughts” to “fluff.” The following women are my favourite models…I know they aren’t really huge on the runways (I’m not a fan of a lot of fashion models out there) and I know they are very commercial (ahem, Victorias Secret) but I happen to think each one if amazingly gorgeous (and with healthy, enviable bodies to boot)...these are the classic ones I still appreciate to this day:

Laetitia Casta

Yamila Diaz

Kristy Hume

Josie Maran

Estella Warren

Chandra North

Bridget Hall

The photo of Yamila has inspired me to go look through my old Glamour magazines from 1998 :) And these lovely ladies are my new favourites...

Bar Raefeli

Miranda Kerr

Karolina Kurkova

Carmen Kass

Doutzen Kroes

By the way, I received the most gorgeous agate necklace from Cupcake and Cashmere's Etsy shop the other day - can't wait to show it to you all in tomorrow's post :D

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

AHHHH! I just recieved another pair of sweet shoes that I scored off of Lulu's fabulous Shoes and your Mom site. These Marni's are several seasons old but I don't care - they are striking and adorable. The only problem is that they aren't exactly the easiest to walk in: the footbed is wood, they are slingbacks and it appears half the shoe is missing. I was teetering helplessly around work yesterday lest I take a wrong step (I walk heel first - kinda hard when you're missing part of the heel').

But my fear of hard-to-wear shoes (and my problem feet/legs) be damned! These are just too much fun and actually make my stumps look leggy(ish)!

Also, really loving the sterling silver starfish earrings and my starfish embellished cocktail ring, paired with the turquoise they give off a breezy, marine feeling - and it's making me think I might have to wear as much silver as I do gold in the summer.

Speaking of fabulous websites (I hope to sell more of my clothes on Lulu's site - just sold my too tiny Patrizia Pepe wedges and am looking to add my Chloe sweater and Abaete dress), I was wondering if YOU had any favourites?

Everyday at work I check out the same sites: The Sartorialist, Garance Dore, Shoewawa, Catwalk Queen, Fabsugar, WhoWhatWear Daily, Go Fug Yourself (along with all your blogs of course) but I want some more fab fashion/style sites to peruse...any suggestions?

PS - though I am a week into my online shopping ban, I've already received an email from Bluefly that says "we miss you"....oh dear.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

My freakin' Modern Vintage boots arrived! Like, 2 months after I ordered them. Turns out that after they realized they sent it to the wrong US PO Box, they got in touch with me (OK it was the other way around) and told me they would ship it up to Canada. Which was great because I didn't want to cross the border again just to get the boots, much easier to just send it here. Well, as I was waiting for the boots to be sent BACK from the wrong PO box to their shipping house and then BACK to me, my mom calls me and tells me she picked up my boots from our post office in the USA.

Um, but...didn't I tell them....wha?

Anyway, it does not matter because for some reason the phrase "send to Canada" means the same as "send to Washington State" and the boots arrived safe and sound (thank GOD though that my mom just happened to be checking the mail there).

I must say, they are worth the fuss and all the waiting. First of all, there is the price which I think was $295 and I scored them for $49. Second of all, these babies just beg me to motorbiking - they are too cool for me. Third of all, they are beyond comfortable. It's like walking in flip flops all day, that kinda comfy. They fit perfectly too, though because the zip doesn't go all the way up they are kind of a pain to get on. If my feet's arches were any higher, I couldn't get them in there!

Now that those pictures are over with, I am going to go into a deluge of fashion nostalgia which may or may not bore you (or amuse you or sicken you), but rest assured there are hilarious old photos of yours truly as well. And feel free to marvel at my up and down weight loss through the ages :)

A comment from Kass the other day got me thinking about my shopping habits and looking back, I actually find it quite interesting the way I have evolved (or de-evolved)spending AND style-wise.

Anyone in my high school could tell you I've always been the girl with a ton of clothes. In fact, people would come over to my house just to "borrow" my clothes - which I would later see on people I didn't even know that well. Everyone wanted a peice of me, I guess...and boy did I lose so many clothes that way!

The fashion side of shopping first started back in junior high, where I remember I had NO sense of style and blindly followed the trends which involved Club Monaco sweatshirts, tappered Guess jeans with zippers at the ankles (oddly enough, very in now - 15 years later!) and Doc Martins. I begged my mom to take me to Club Monaco every weekend (mind you this was when Club Monaco - a Canadian company - first opened their door isn 1992/1993). My mom always indluged me - how could she not though? I was her crippled child that bullies made fun of and slapped around (and you wonder why I harbour so much resentment towards mankind).

In early high school though, I fell into the punk music scene and hung out with the "skids" which meant my wardrobe consisted of thrifted EVERYTHING! OR anything from Hot Topic (back in 1997, emo didn't exist so I'm talking about the Hot Topic of yore). So it was a bit cheaper for my parents to support this clothing style since I Was happiest fishing old Corona t-shirts out of Salvation Army bins, but I made up for it in rare bootlegs of Smashing Pumpkins or tickets to Sonic Youth.

At the end of high school I wore a lot of Roxy, as well as cleavage baring tops galore (my high school nickname was Captain Juggs) and anything from Le Chateau. This was also about the time I discovered a love for WET SEAL! Since we didn't (and still don't) have that store in Canada, I drove to Bellingham every chance I could and binged!

After high school, I went straight to New Zealand and Australia to backpack for almost a year and you'd be suprised (maybe not) at how many boxes of clothes I had to mail back home. Long skirts and halter tops was my thing. The shopping there - especially in the markets - was AMAZING! The thing about me is, I HATE potentially wearing the same clothes as everyone else, so when I can buy things that no one else I know will have, I do so and with a vengence!

FACT: Once Forever 21 opens up their first store in Western Canada, I will no longer buy items from Forever 21. OK, I might buy jewlery or plain items but there is no way I will buy a dress from them, lest everyone else in my city be wearing it. I'm weird like that.

Anyway, I shopped my heart out in OZ and came back with stuff that I still have (and am reluctant to part with, such as a Skipping Girl tote, which was very cool in the year 2000):

Back at home though, I promptly discovered this new thing called "Ebay" and became obsessed with handbags. Like OBSESSED! I was also workin a full-time job for the first time ever (in retail, but old lady clothes) so I had money to burn on vintage bags.

Ah yes, this was my vintage siren phase, which came forth due to my love of classic movies and literature. I started wearing everything that made me look like Kim Novak. I bought incredible vintage bags at vintage stores and on eBay. After awhile though, I got a little carried away and ended up being kicked off eBay. Probably for the best :)

I also got very big into counterfeit handbags at this time. I am not proud of it, not because I believe the house of Louis Vuitton would notice or care but because now I am aware of the immoral affliations (ie child labour) that is associated with counterfeit products. I never pretended the bags were real (I can't lie about stuff like that) but for some reason I had to have them. Anyway, because of my bag excess (real or fake) I set upon a BAG BAN upon myself and you know what? I never went crazy for bags again! Yes, I still have a LOT and I still buy them but I'm satisfied with what I have right now and for years haven't really felt the urge to buy a whole bunch. A couple of bags a year feels right to me.

Then I moved to Auckland New Zealand to go to school, and again I fell in love with their clothings - such different brands: Portmans, Supre, Glassons (I wore my Glassons pants the other day!) JJays and the best store ever which was this Recycle Boutique downtown. It had the best consignment clothes - not the biggest names but such COOL stuf and the largest selection. I am SO excited to see that store again. I swear I bought things there every week!

Then I moved back home after a year and a bit and went to another university in a crappy town far away from my home city. This is when I rekindled my relationship with eBay and started buying and selling. I went through a HUGE Bebe and Arden B phase and would troll eBay for the greatest deals.

After awhile, friends started asking me if I would give them eBay tutorials. Funnily enough, both of my bosses are now asking me for the same thing. I guess I have become somewhat of an aficianado (well I have been using eBay since 2001!). I also went to Palm Springs quite frequently where I would stock up on all the American stores such as Wet Seal, F21 and everything at Desert Hills Premium Outlet.

In the middle of Journalism School though, I jetted off by myself to Europe for 4 months, where I reveled in the most delightful feeling once more: traveling by myself. Strange to say but all of the best memories I have are from my solo travels. I truly am my best company :)

Oh of course I bought a shitload of stuff too. I sent boxes home every two weeks, lest my backpack get too heavy. This is when I really fell in love with Zara and H&M (so different in Europe than they are here) and of course Mango MNG which I still love with a passion. Then there were Scandinavian stores like Indiska, German stores such as C&A (Cheap and Awful as my German friend would tell me), Italian stores like Coin and French stores such as Naf Naf (and did I mention Zara, H&M and Mango?). On these travels I learned the art of scarves in Helsinki and Tallin...

And as the summer began and the humidity started in full force, I began a love affair with wide leg linen pants from H&M, as wrinkled as they got in my crammed bag.

As well as long flowy gypsy skirts :)

After university, I returned to Europe again in two consecutive occasions, this time volunteering English teaching in Spain and Italy (but still to Spaniards) where I fell in love with Spanish brands such as Blanco...oh Blanco, you were so awesome. I still have all my Blanco tops too, such as these cool halter and peasant tops.

The Italian trip though is where I fell in love with those fabled Bata boots of mine and was propelled into a new era in "boot obsession."

This was quickly followed by "full on shoe obsession" last summer, where my first pair of Louboutins (horrible experience, don't want to talk about it lol) got me hooked on designer clothes. And such is my demise. Of course I am not made of money, so I can't buy all designer and I never buy full-price for anything but it has been nice to make my cheapo clothes look a little more fresh this way.

But enough is enough! My job which has long periods of boredom has encouraged online shopping, as has empty credit cards and my new-found ability to branch out fashion-wise. But I am done with it (til July) and now I begin a new phase...wearing out everything I have and actually GOING into stores to try things on. I have to remember how much fun physical shopping was for me at one point. I mean sheesh, my apartment is a 15-minute walk to Aldo and Zara...what am I waiting for?

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little online journey through my fashion and shopping habits! It was a lot of fun to put together :)

Monday, April 27, 2009

On Sunday I got up nice and early (for the second Sunday in a row) and went to spin class. I am so happy they are now offering the classes on the weekend because weekend workouts are the absolute best - even if it means you can't sleep in. I used to just lie in bed forever but these days if I am semi-awake I know I should get up and get the day started - you get so much out of it that way. I still sleep in when I can but if it gets past 10:30 AM, I start to feel guilty (a lot different from my college days when sleeping in till noon was the plan). I honestly think getting up earlier on the weekends has also improved my overall sleep for the entire week - I guess it's either that or the near-constant workouts!

Energized from my workout, I got home and started tearing apart my closet - today was the day I was going to haul my winter clothes to my parent's house and take back my summer stuff (as well as sort the clothes I am to giveaway to friends at Eyeliah's clothing swap party and give to charity).

It wasn't till I arrived at my parent's house and went into the storage room that I realized how much clothing I had. I mean, I knew I had shirts that I just didn't wear anymore, or never wore, or were gross, didn't fit, etc. But I totally forgot about all of my legitimate summer stuff which I moved out there last October. Dresses I had totally forgotten about, which were promptly coming home with me.

Of course, I had bought a lot more dresses between October and now, so my newest biggest challenge is trying to fit them all in my closet when my closet was already way too full. WAY too full!

Did I mention that I had the sweetest dream the other day? In my dream, I reorganized my closet and realized it was a walk in! Then I woke up, saw my actual closet and almost cried.

But there IS hope on the horizon. After spending the afternoon at my boyfriend's parents house (up the street from my parents) and lounging outside with that Rum Punch in the sunshine, I realized my potential move there in July wouldn't be all THAT unbearable...especially after revisiting the bedroom we will be staying in and its epic closet-space :)

In the meantime though, I impulsively bought an iTouch (my last hurrah of online shopping). I had actually been meaning to get one for a while since I needed a music player and I loved the idea of having iPhone apps without having an actual iPhone. But most of all, I really wanted the closet organizer app (thanks to Cupcakes and Cashmere for the tip!). Remember last month when I took photos of all my clothes and wished there was some way I could make this turn into Cher's closet doohickey from Clueless? Well, now there is! I can't wait to try it :) it might change my life, me thinks :P

And speaking of online shopping, my ban OFFICIALLY starts on May 1st, but it has more or less already started. And let me tell you...this is SERIOUS business.

Yes, I had shopping bans before, which - like restricting diets - only leads to binges. So I am not banning shopping in general. Like I said, if I want new shoes then I need to get my ass to Aldo and buy them. Laziness will prevent 90% of all my shopping though.

So I am just banning online shopping - and really avoiding all online retail sites. I have even written out a sworn oath to God that I signed and my boyfriend witnesses. Sounds extreme, but when I've sworn to God, I don't dare piss Him off.

Sadly enough, this is already hard. Just looking through magazines I see stuff that I could have bought had I known about it, but now I can't. And it JUST started - it really will take the grace of God to get me to last till July 1st. But I can do it. I MUST!

Ah, check out the nice views from the yard of my future temporary home - watched this bratty crow annoy this bald eagle for a good hour or so. Sigh. I love BC!

By the way; question for you readers out there: How do YOU organize your closet? Is it a mess, stuffed to the brims (like mine) or a calm and soothing sanctuary, organized by colour? (for the record, mine is stuffed full, but in my actual hanging closet I try and put pants together, skirts together, tops together, dresses together and then in colour order - but it rarely lasts like that for more than a day :P)

About Me

I've been many things in my life: an aspiring screenwriter, a journalist, a marketing lackey, a vagabond solo traveler, a frugal fashionista, a music journalist and now, an author of a much-loved Young Adult supernatural series - one thing that'll never change? My urge to be Anywhere But Here.